Visceral fat determining device

ABSTRACT

A visceral fat determining device is disclosed which can be used easily at home for example and can obtain information on visceral fat. The visceral fat determining device comprises: input means for inputting personal data that represents vital characteristics of the patient; a data processing unit capable of performing various calculations; and a display device capable of displaying the personal data and results of the calculations. Upon inputting of a waist size which is a girth of trunk of the patient, and a hip size which is a girth of buttocks of the patient, quantitative information on abdominal visceral fat of the patient is given through a calculation based on WHR which is a ratio of the waist size to the hip size (waist size/hip size).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a visceral fat determining devicecapable of obtaining information on visceral fat, which is part ofinternal body fat of a human body, through a simple operation.

BACKGROUND ART

Attention has been paid to human internal body fat in view of healthmaintenance. Specifically, increase in the internal body fat promotesadult diseases for example, and therefore monitoring the internal bodyfat can lead to prevention of these diseases and problems. There is anindex called BMI for evaluating such internal body fat. Since BMI can beobtained from height and weight of a patient, it is readily used as aindex for obtaining information on the internal body fat.

Another index for assessing the patient's internal body fat is body fatratio. Recently, a variety of body fat meters capable of obtaining thebody fat ratio are available on the market. By using these body fatmeters, the body fat ratio as an indicator of the state of internal bodyfat can be obtained easily at home for example.

Incidentally, among the internal body fat, the visceral fat is believedto be a factor in particular contributing to various complications ofheart diseases, diabetes, and so on. For this reason, the visceral fatis considered to be an important factor in view of health maintenance.

Here, the BMI and the body fat ratio described above are informationobtained as an average data on the internal body fat as existing in thewhole body. Therefore, even if BMI or the body fat ratio gives a valuewhich does not indicate any health problems, it is not necessarilypossible to determine if there is any health problem in relation withthe visceral fat.

Information on the visceral fat can be obtained through a diagnosingmethod such as abdominal tomography by means of CT scanning, MRI and soon. Such a method allows direct observation of the abdomen itself,making possible to obtain accurate information on the visceral fat.

However, such a diagnosis using CT scanning or the like is only possiblewith a large scale apparatus installed at a major hospital, and theresults can be obtained only after a certain length of time necessaryfor measurement and data analysis. In addition, highly specificexpertise is required for the operation of the apparatus and the dataanalysis. Therefore, the method is not available as a handy means forobtaining visceral fat information at home for example.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a visceralfat determining device that can be used easily at home or the like, forobtaining information on visceral fat.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to achieve the object, a visceral fat determining deviceaccording to the present invention comprises:

input means for inputting personal data including an abdominal girthW_(L) which is a circumferential length of a trunk of a patient and agluteal girth H_(L) which is a circumferential length of buttocks of thepatient;

-   -   a data processing unit for storing the personal data and for        calculating quantitative information on abdominal visceral fat        of the patient based on the personal data; and    -   a display device for displaying the personal data and a result        of the calculation performed by the data processing unit;    -   wherein the data processing unit calculates quantitative        information associated with the abdominal visceral fat of the        patient based on WHR which is a ratio (W_(L)/H_(L)) of the        abdominal girth W_(L) to the gluteal girth H_(L).

The state of abdominal visceral fat of the patient is believed to have avery high correlation with WHR which is one of physical characteristicsof the patient. In the visceral fat determining device according to thepresent invention, quantitative information on the abdominal visceralfat of the patient can be calculated based on WHR=W_(L)/H_(L), namely aratio between the gluteal girth which is a hip size of the patient andthe abdominal girth W_(L) which is a waist size of the patient.Therefore, the visceral fat determining device according to the presentinvention enables to obtain the information on the abdominal visceralfat which is information deeply related to the health of the patient,easily at home or the like.

According to the above visceral fat determining device, the quantitativeinformation on the abdominal visceral fat may be an amount of theabdominal visceral fat. The amount of the abdominal visceral fat isinformation deeply related to the health of the patient. Therefore, bymonitoring the amount of the visceral fat, it is possible to foresee apossibility of being suffered from adult diseases.

The above visceral fat determining device may further comprise body fatratio measuring means for measuring a bioelectrical impedance Z of thepatient via electrodes contacted to end portions of the patient and forcalculating a body fat ratio FAT of the patient based on the measuredbioelectrical impedance Z and the inputted personal data or a portionthereof, and

the body fat ratio FAT obtained by the body fat ratio measuring meansmay be displayed on the display device.

With this configuration, the visceral fat determining device accordingto the present invention is not only capable of obtaining information onthe visceral fat but also capable of obtaining the body fat ratio FAT.

Further, the visceral fat determining device according to the presentinvention may be arranged so that it can calculate an estimated value ofan abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA as informationassociated with the visceral fat. According to the visceral fatdetermining device of the present invention, when obtaining theestimated value of abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA, by astatistical processing to correlation between actual values of anabdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA associated withunspecified number of human samples and the personal data including WHR,a specific correlation between the WHR and the abdominal visceral fatcross sectional area VA are determined. Then, by the determinedcorrelation is applied to each patient, the estimated value of abdominalvisceral fat cross sectional area VA based on WHR and other data of eachpatient can be obtained at a high accuracy.

A visceral fat determining device capable of obtaining such an estimatedvalue of abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA comprises:

input means for inputting personal data including an abdominal girthW_(L) which is a circumferential length of a trunk (waist size) of apatient and a gluteal girth H_(L) which is a circumferential length ofbuttocks (hip size) of the patient;

a data processing unit for storing the personal data and for calculatingan estimated value of an abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VAof the patient based on the personal data; and

a display device for displaying the personal data and a result of thecalculation performed by the data processing unit;

wherein the data processing unit stores a first regression coefficientof WHR and a first regression constant, WHR being a ratio (W_(L)/H_(L))of an abdominal girth W_(L) to an gluteal girth H_(L), the regressioncoefficient and the regression constant being obtained from statisticalprocessing based on actual measurement values of the abdominal visceralfat cross sectional area VA measured in abdominal tomography of humanbodies of random samples and respective WHR values of the human samples,the data processing unit calculating the estimated value of abdominalvisceral fat cross sectional area VA of the patient based on a WHR valueof the patient, the first regression constant of said WHR and the firstregression coefficient.

The invention of to the visceral fat determining device according to theabove configuration is based on the fact that the abdominal visceral fatcross sectional area VA correlates with the WHR. The data processingunit stores a first regression coefficient of the WHR and a firstregression constant. The regression coefficient and the regressionconstant are obtained from statistical processing based on actualmeasurement values of the abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VAmeasured in abdominal tomography of human bodies of random samples andrespective WHR values of the human samples. Then, upon input of a WHRvalue of the patient, an estimated value of the abdominal visceral fatcross sectional area VA is calculated based on the first regressionconstant of the WHR and the first regression coefficient.

As described above, according to the visceral fat determining device ofthe present invention, the estimated value of an abdominal visceral fatcross sectional area VA can be obtained as the information associatedwith the visceral fat of the patient by simply inputting a WHR valuewhich is part of the personal data. Therefore, the estimated value ofabdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA which is informationdeeply related to the health can be obtained easily.

Further, the visceral fat determining device capable of calculating theabdominal visceral fat cross section area VA may comprise:

input means for inputting personal data including an abdominal girthW_(L) which is a circumferential length of a trunk of a patient, agluteal girth H_(L) which is a circumferential length of buttocks of thepatient, height and weight of the patient;

a data processing unit for storing the personal data and for calculatingan estimated value of an abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VAof the patient based on the personal data; and

a display device for displaying the personal data and a result of thecalculation performed by the data processing unit;

wherein the data processing unit stores a second regression coefficientof WHR, WHR being a ratio (W_(L)/H_(L)) of an abdominal girth W_(L) toan gluteal girth H_(L), and a first regression coefficient of BMI, BMIbeing an index of corpulence, and a second regression constant, theregression coefficients and the regression constant being obtained fromstatistical processing based on actual measurement values of theabdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA measured in abdominaltomography of human bodies of random samples and respective WHR valuesand BMI values of the human samples, the data processing unitcalculating the estimated value of abdominal visceral fat crosssectional area VA of the patient based on a WHR value and a BMI value ofthe patient, the second regression coefficient of said WHR, the firstregression coefficient of said BMI and the second regression constant.

The invention which is related to this visceral fat determining deviceis based on the fact that the abdominal visceral fat cross sectionalarea VA correlates with the BMI, in addition to the WHR. The dataprocessing unit precedently stores a second regression coefficient ofthe WHR, a first regression coefficient of BMI, and a second regressionconstant. The regression coefficients and the regression constant areobtained from statistical processing of correlation among actualmeasurement values of the abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VAof human bodies of random samples and two data of WHR values and BMIvalues of the human samples. Then, according to this visceral fatdetermining device, upon input of a WHR value and a BMI value of thepatient, an estimated value of the abdominal visceral fat crosssectional area VA is calculated. Therefore, according to the visceralfat determining device, in calculating the abdominal visceral fat crosssectional area VA, BMI of the patient can be reflected in addition tothe WHR of the patient.

Further, the visceral fat determining device may comprise:

input means for inputting personal data including an abdominal girthW_(L) which is a circumferential length of a trunk of a patient, agluteal girth H_(L) which is a circumferential length of buttocks of thepatient, height, weight, sex and age of the patient;

a data processing unit for storing the personal data and for calculatingan estimated value of an abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VAof the patient based on the personal data;

a display device for displaying the personal data and a result of thecalculation performed by the data processing unit; and

body fat ratio measuring means for measuring a bioelectrical impedance Zof the patient via electrodes contacted to end portions of the patientand for calculating a body fat ratio FAT of the patient based on themeasured bioelectrical impedance Z and the inputted personal data or aportion thereof;

wherein the data processing unit stores a third regression coefficientof WHR, WHR being a ratio (W_(L)/H_(L)) of an abdominal girth W_(L) toan gluteal girth H_(L), a first regression coefficient of body fat ratioFAT and a third regression constant, the regression coefficients and theregression constant being obtained from statistical processing based onactual measurement values of the abdominal visceral fat cross sectionalarea VA measured in abdominal tomography of human bodies of randomsamples and respective WHR values and FAT values of the human samples,the data processing unit calculating the estimated value of abdominalvisceral fat cross sectional area VA of the patient based on a WHR valueof the patient, a FAT value of the patient measured by the body fatratio measuring means, the third regression coefficient of said WHR, thefirst regression coefficient of said FAT and the third regressionconstant.

The invention of this visceral fat determining device is based on thefact that the abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA correlateswith the body fat ratio FAT, in addition to the WHR. The data processingunit precedently stores a third regression coefficient of the WHR, afirst regression coefficient of the body fat ratio FAT and a thirdregression constant. The regression coefficients and the regressionconstant are obtained from statistical processing of correlation amongactual measurement values of the abdominal visceral fat cross sectionalarea VA of human bodies of random samples and two data of WHR values andFAT values of the human samples. According to this visceral fatdetermining device, upon input of a WHR value and a body fat ratio FATof the patient, an estimated value of the abdominal visceral fat crosssectional area VA is calculated. Therefore, according to this visceralfat determining device, in calculating the abdominal visceral fat crosssectional area VA, the body fat ratio FAT of the patient can bereflected in addition to the WHR of the patient.

Further, the visceral fat determining device may comprise:

input means for inputting personal data including an abdominal girthW_(L) which is a circumferential length of a trunk of a patient, agluteal girth H_(L) which is a circumferential length of buttocks of thepatient, height, weight and an abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness s ofthe patient;

a data processing unit capable of storing the personal data andperforming calculation of an estimated value of an abdominal visceralfat cross sectional area VA of the patient based on the personal data;and

a display device for displaying the personal data and a result of thecalculation performed by the data processing unit;

wherein the data processing unit stores a fourth regression coefficientof WHR, WHR being a ratio (W_(L)/H_(L)) of an abdominal girth W_(L) toan gluteal girth H_(L), a second regression coefficient of BMI, BMIbeing an index of corpulence, a first regression coefficient of theabdominal subcutaneous fat thickness s and a fourth regression constant,the regression coefficients and the regression constant being obtainedfrom statistical processing of correlation among actual measurementvalues of the abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA measured inabdominal tomography of human bodies of random samples and respectiveWHR values, BMI values and abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness values sof the human samples, the data processing unit calculating the estimatedvalue of abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA of the patientbased on a WHR value, a BMI value and an abdominal subcutaneous fatthickness value s of the patient, the fourth regression coefficient ofsaid WHR, the second regression coefficient of said BMI, the firstregression coefficient of said abdominal subcutaneous fat thicknessvalues and the second regression constant.

The invention of this visceral fat determining device is based on thefact that the abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA correlateswith the BMI and the abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness value s, inaddition to the WHR. The data processing unit stores a fourth regressioncoefficient of the WHR, a second regression coefficient of the BMI, afirst regression coefficient of the abdominal subcutaneous fat thicknesss and a fourth regression constant. The regression coefficients and theregression constant are obtained from statistical processing ofcorrelation between actual measurement values of the abdominal visceralfat cross sectional area VA of human bodies of random samples and threekinds of data, namely, respective WHR values, BMI values and abdominalsubcutaneous fat thickness values s of the human samples. According tothis visceral fat determining device, upon input of a WHR value, a BMIvalue and an abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness values of the patient,an estimated value of the abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VAis calculated. Therefore, according to this visceral fat determiningdevice, in calculating the abdominal visceral fat cross sectional areaVA, the BMI and the abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness s can bereflected in addition to the WHR of the patient.

Further, the visceral fat determining device according to the presentinvention may comprise:

input means for inputting personal data including an abdominal girthW_(L) which is a circumferential length of a trunk of a patient, agluteal girth H_(L) which is a circumferential length of buttocks of thepatient, height, weight, sex, age and an abdominal subcutaneous fatthickness s of the patient;

a data processing unit for storing the personal data and for calculatingan estimated value of an abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VAof the patient based on the personal data;

a display device for displaying the personal data and a result of thecalculation performed by the data processing unit; and

body fat ratio measuring means for measuring a bioelectrical impedance Zof the patient via electrodes contacted to end portions of the patientand for calculating a body fat ratio FAT of the patient based on themeasured bioelectrical impedance Z and the inputted personal data or aportion thereof;

wherein the data processing unit stores a fifth regression coefficientof WHR, WHR being a ratio (W_(L)/H_(L)) of an abdominal girth W_(L) toan gluteal girth HL, a second regression coefficient of body fat ratioFAT, a second regression coefficient of the abdominal subcutaneous fatthickness s and a fifth regression constant, the regression coefficientsand the regression constant being obtained from statistical processingof correlation among actual measurement values of the abdominal visceralfat cross sectional area VA measured in abdominal tomography of humanbodies of random samples, and respective WHR values, FAT values andabdominal subcutaneous fat thickness values s of the human samples, thedata processing unit calculating the estimated value of abdominalvisceral fat cross sectional area VA of the patient based on a WHR valueof the patient, a FAT value and an abdominal subcutaneous fat thicknessvalue s measured by the body fat measuring means, the fifth regressioncoefficient of said WHR, the second regression coefficient of said FAT,the second regression coefficient of said abdominal subcutaneous fatthickness s, and the fifth regression constant.

The invention of this visceral fat determining device is based on thefact that the abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA correlateswith the body fat ratio FAT and the abdominal subcutaneous fat thicknessvalue s in addition to the WHR. The data processing unit stores a fifthregression coefficient of the WHR, a second regression coefficient ofthe body fat ratio FAT, a second regression coefficient of the abdominalsubcutaneous fat thickness s and a fifth regression constant. Theregression coefficients and the regression constant are obtained fromstatistical processing of correlation between actual measurement valuesof the abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA of human bodies ofrandom samples, and three kinds of data, namely respective WHR values,FAT values and abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness values s of thehuman samples. With the above constitution, according to this visceralfat determining device, upon input of a WHR value, a value of the bodyfat ratio FAT, a value of the abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness values of the patient, and an estimated value of the abdominal visceral fatcross sectional area VA are calculated. Therefore, according to thisvisceral fat determining device, in calculating the abdominal visceralfat cross sectional area VA, the body fat ratio FAT and the abdominalsubcutaneous fat thickness s can be reflected in addition to the WHR ofthe patient.

Further, for those visceral fat determining device to which theabdominal subcutaneous fat thickness value s is inputted, there may besuch a constitution that calculation is made for an abdominalsubcutaneous fat cross sectional area SA based on the abdominalsubcutaneous fat thickness s and the waist size.

Further, another constitution may be such that calculation is made for aratio between the estimated value of abdominal visceral fat crosssectional area VA and the abdominal subcutaneous fat cross sectionalarea SA, of the patient.

Further, another constitution may be such that calculation is made for atotal abdominal fat cross sectional area WA based on the estimated valueof abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA and the abdominalsubcutaneous fat cross sectional area SA, of the patient. These visceralfat determining device capable of calculating the abdominal subcutaneousfat cross sectional area SA offers the following advantages.

Specifically, there is a recent finding about a role played by thesubcutaneous fat, that the subcutaneous fat secretes a hormone thattends to reduce body fat. Further, there is another finding that thatthe subcutaneous fat tends to reduce adverse affect from visceral fataccumulation due to supernutrition. Therefore, information on theabdominal subcutaneous fat and on the ratio between the abdominalsubcutaneous fat and the abdominal visceral fat can be used as importantindex for assessing the health.

There may be another constitution other than these visceral fatdetermining device which are capable of calculating the abdominalvisceral fat cross sectional area VA. Specifically, those which do notuse the body fat ratio FAT in the calculation of the abdominal visceralfat cross sectional area VA may also be provided with the body fat ratiomeasuring means, so that they also obtain the body fat ratio FAT of thepatient and the obtained body fat ratio FAT is displayed on the displaydevice. This constitution allows the user to know the body fat ratio FATin addition to the abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA.

Further, the visceral fat determining device according to the presentinvention may comprise:

input means for inputting personal data including an abdominal girthW_(L) which is a circumferential length of a trunk of a patient, and agluteal girth H_(L) which is a circumferential length of buttocks of thepatient;

a data processing unit for storing the personal data and for calculatingan estimated value of an abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VAof the patient based on the personal data;

a display device for displaying the personal data and a result of thecalculation performed by the data processing unit; and

impedance measuring means for measuring a bioelectrical impedance Z ofthe patient via electrodes contacted to end portions of the patient andfor calculation on the measured bioelectrical impedance Z;

wherein the data processing unit stores a sixth regression coefficientof WHR, WHR being a ratio (W_(L)/H_(L)) of an abdominal girth W_(L) toan gluteal girth H_(L), a first regression coefficient of thebioelectrical impedance Z and a sixth regression constant, theregression coefficients and the regression constant being obtained fromstatistical processing of correlation among actual measurement values ofthe abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA measured in abdominaltomography of human bodies of random samples, and respective WHR valuesand bioelectrical impedance values Z of the human samples, the dataprocessing unit calculating the estimated value of abdominal visceralfat cross sectional area VA of the patient based on a WHR value of thepatient, a bioelectrical impedance value Z of the patient measured bythe body fat ratio measuring means, the sixth regression coefficient ofsaid WHR, the first regression coefficient of said bioelectricalimpedance Z, and the sixth regression constant.

The invention of this visceral fat determining device is based on thefact that the abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA correlateswith the bioelectrical impedance in addition to the WHR. The dataprocessing unit stores a sixth regression coefficient of the WHR, afirst regression coefficient of the bioelectrical impedance Z and asixth regression constant. The regression coefficients and theregression constant are obtained from statistical processing ofcorrelation between actual measurement values of the abdominal visceralfat cross sectional area VA of human bodies of random samples, and twokinds of data, namely respective WHR values and bioelectrical impedancevalues Z of the human samples. With the above constitution, according tothis visceral fat determining device, upon input of a WHR value, andmeasurement of the bioelectrical impedance by the bioelectricalimpedance measuring means, an estimated value of the abdominal visceralfat cross sectional area VA is calculated. Therefore, according to thisvisceral fat determining device, in calculating the abdominal visceralfat cross sectional area VA, the bioelectrical impedance can bereflected in addition to the WHR of the patient.

Further, the visceral fat determining device according to the presentinvention may comprise:

input means for inputting personal data including an abdominal girthW_(L) which is a circumferential length of a trunk of a patient, and agluteal girth H_(L) which is a circumferential length of buttocks of thepatient;

a data processing unit for storing the personal data and for calculatingan estimated value of an abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VAof the patient based on the personal data;

a display device for displaying the personal data and a result of thecalculation performed by the data processing unit; and

impedance measuring means for measuring a bioelectrical impedance Z ofthe patient via electrodes contacted to end portions of the patient andfor calculation on the measured bioelectrical impedance Z;

wherein the data processing unit stores a seventh regression coefficientof WHR, and a first regression coefficient of TL2/Z and a seventhregression constant, WHR being a ratio (W_(L)/H_(L)) of an abdominalgirth W_(L) to an gluteal girth H_(L), T_(L) ²/Z being obtained bydividing a squared height of a human by his bioelectrical impedance, theregression coefficients and the regression constant being obtained fromstatistical processing of correlation among actual measurement values ofthe abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA measured in abdominaltomography of human bodies of random samples, and respective WHR valuesand T_(L) ²/Z values of the human samples, the data processing unitcalculating the estimated value of abdominal visceral fat crosssectional area VA of the patient based on a WHR value of the patient, abioelectrical impedance value Z of the patient measured by the body fatratio measuring means, a height value T_(L) inputted from the inputmeans, the seventh regression coefficient of said WHR, the firstregression coefficient of said T_(L) ²/Z, and the seventh regressionconstant.

The invention of this visceral fat determining device is based on thefact that the estimated value of an abdominal visceral fat crosssectional area VA correlates with T_(L) ²/Z, which is a quotientobtained by dividing a squared height T_(L) of a human by hisbioelectrical impedance. The data processing unit stores a seventhregression coefficient of the WHR, and a first regression coefficient ofT_(L) ²/Z and a seventh regression constant. The regression coefficientsand the regression constant are obtained from statistical processing ofcorrelation of actual measurement values of the abdominal visceral fatcross sectional area of human bodies of random samples with respect totwo kinds of data, namely respective WHR values and T_(L) ²/Z values ofthe human samples. With the above constitution, according to thisvisceral fat determining device, upon input of a height T_(L) and a WHRvalue of the patient, and measurement of the bioelectrical impedance bythe bioelectrical impedance measuring means, an estimated value of theabdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA is calculated. Therefore,according to this visceral fat determining device, in calculating theabdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA, the height TL and thebioelectrical impedance of the patient can be reflected in addition tothe WHR of the patient.

Further, for the visceral fat determining device so far described above,another constitution may be added. Specifically, the calculation of theestimated value of abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA may beperformed with addition of a correction term by age and a correctionterm by sex, of the patient. According to this constitution, incalculating the abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA, personalcharacteristics of the patient such as the age and the sex can bereflected. In this case, both of the age correction term and the sexcorrection term may be added, or either one of the age correction termand the sex correction term may be added.

Another possible constitution is that a plurality of ranking levelsdefined by a plurality of standard values are provided in advance forthe abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA, and the estimatedvalue of the abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA given by thecalculation is displayed on the display device in conformity with theranking levels. In this way, measuring results given as the quantitativeinformation of the abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA can begrasped visually, in the form of ranking in graded levels. This makeseasy to grasp the obtained abdominal visceral fat cross sectional areaVA.

Further, for those visceral fat determining device described above, theabdominal girth W_(L) may be provided by an abdominal girth at thefourth lumbar vertebrae of the patient, and the gluteal girth H_(L) maybe provided by a girth measured generally at the thickest portion on thebuttocks of the patient. By using the waist size and hip size obtainedfrom the above specific portions, it becomes possible to obtainmeasuring results which have the highest correlation with the state ofvisceral fat in the human body.

Further, those visceral fat determining device described above may alsobe provided with size measuring means for measuring the abdominal girthWL and the gluteal girth HL. The constitution allows the use of the sizemeasuring means for on-demand, on-site measurement of the waist size andthe hip size at the time when the patient wants to use the determiningdevice, eliminating need for inputting a waist size and hip sizemeasured elsewhere.

Another possible constitution is that the abdominal girth WL and thegluteal girth HL measured by the size measuring means are inputted tothe data processing unit. This eliminates need for the patient to makean input via the input means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1(a) is a perspective view of an example of a visceral fatdetermining device, and FIG. 1(b) shows a display example of thevisceral fat determining device;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of associated with a signal processing in thevisceral fat determining device;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of procedure in a measurementof abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the example procedure of a measurement ofabdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA;

FIG. 5 is an illustration showing a visceral fat determining deviceprovided with a dimension measuring means: and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a visceral fat determining device.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with referenceto FIG. 1 through FIG. 6.

FIG. 1 shows a visceral fat determining device 10 as an embodiment ofthe present invention. FIG. 1(a) is a perspective view of the visceralfat determining device 10. The visceral fat determining device 10 iscapable of obtaining visceral fat information of the patient such as anestimated value of abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA whichis a cross sectional area of the visceral fat at the abdomen, and atotal abdominal fat cross sectional area WA including abdominalsubcutaneous fat, In addition, the determining device is provided with abuilt-in body fat determining device so that the body fat ratio FAT canbe obtained.

Also, the visceral fat determining device 10 can obtain BMI which hasbeen used as a handy index of corpulence. The BMI is obtained through aknown formula based on the patient's height and weight as part ofpersonal data to be described later.

The visceral fat determining device 10 is provided with an operation pad7, which includes a plurality of keys for inputting values, charactersand so on. By using these keys, the personal data which representpersonal physical characteristics of the patient can be inputted, so alarge number of keys necessary for the input of such personal data areprovided. The input pad 7 represents the input means for inputtingpersonal data.

The personal data which can be inputted into the visceral fatdetermining device 10 includes; patient's height, weight, sex, age,waist size (hereinafter may also be called “abdominal girth”), and hipsize (hereinafter may also be called “gluteal girth”). The waist size(W_(L)) and the hip size (H_(L)) provide a basis for calculating WHR,which is a ratio of the waist size (W_(L)) to the hip size (H_(L)) (i.e.WHR can be obtained by dividing the waist size by the hip size.)

The waist size should preferably be a measurement of abdominalcircumference measured at the fourth lumbar vertebrae of the patient.Likewise, the hip size should preferably be a circumference measuredgenerally at the widest portion on the buttocks of the patient. It isbelieved that the values measured from the above specific portions canreflect the state of body's visceral fat most accurately.

Further, the personal data to be inputted may include an abdominalsubcutaneous fat thickness s. The abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness scan be measured by various known means such as so called calipers and anabdominal fat determining device based on an ultrasonic wave method.

Further, if the abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness s is measured andinputted into the visceral fat determining device, the measurement canbe made at two points of the patient's body, i.e. near the navel andabove the iliac bone. Then, either one of the measurements may be usedas the abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness s, or a sum of themeasurements may be used, or an average of the sum may be used also.

The input pad 7 includes a variety of keys such as selection keys forselecting items of the personal data, and numeric keys for inputtingvalues. Further, the input pad 7 includes an ON/OFF switch for turningon and off the visceral fat determining device 10, and an impedancemeasurement starting switch for commencing a measurement ofbioelectrical impedance Z, which will be described later.

Further, by operating the input pad 7, a number of measurement modes canbe selected for the measurement of the abdominal visceral fat crosssectional area VA. In accordance with the selected measurement mode, acorresponding measurement routine such as a first measurement routineand a second measurement routine is executed as will be described later.

These personal data inputted via the input pad 7, and BMI obtained fromthe inputted personal data are displayed on a display 8. Display ofmeasurement results such as the body fat ratio FAT and values related tothe abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA are also made here.FIG. 1(b) shows an example of how the display is made on the display 8.

According to the display shown in FIG. 1(b), the measured abdominalvisceral fat cross sectional area VA is shown as ranked in a pluralityof levels. According to FIG. 1(b), those indicated by reference numbers8 a, 8 b and 8 c are ranking bars showing the ranks. Specifically, forthe abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA, a plurality ofstandard values are set forth in advance, and the measured value of theabdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA is compared to thesestandard values to determine the rank to which the patient's abdominalvisceral fat cross sectional area VA is classified. According to theexample given in FIG. 1(b), the display shows the measurement which isput to a rank corresponding to the ranking bar 8 b.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1(b), level indicators 8 d and 8 e may bedisplayed. The level indicators 8 d and 8 e may be correlated withspecific symptoms related to the visceral fat. For example, clinicaldiagnosis sometimes concludes that the patient is corpulent if theabdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA exceeds 100 cm². Based onthis, the level indicator 8 e may be set to represent 100 cm² of theabdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA.

As shown in FIG. 1(b), the measuring results obtained as a quantitativevalue is displayed in ranking, or displayed with relevant informationabout a symptom that can be affecting the patient. These visualpresentations reflecting a level of corpulence based on the measuringresults allow easy understanding through a visually graded scale.

Further, the visceral fat determining device 10 is provided with a bodyfat ratio measuring means for measuring the body fat ratio FAT of thepatient, as will be described hereinafter. Specifically, on the topsurface of the visceral fat determining device 10, and closer to aforward left corner, an electrode 3 is disposed. Likewise, closer to aforward right corner, an electrode 4 is disposed. Further, on the backsurface of a main body 1, and at a portion right behind the electrode 3,an electrode 5 (not shown) is disposed, and at a portion right behindthe electrode 4, an electrode 6 (not shown) is disposed.

These electrodes 3, 4, 5 and 6 serves as an electrode group formeasuring the bioelectrical impedance Z. The electrodes 5 and 6 serve asa pair of circuit forming electrodes for forming a path for electriccurrent to flow within the patient's body. The electrodes 3 and 4 serveas a pair of voltage measurement electrodes for measuring electricpotential difference between two points on the path.

With the above constitution, these electrodes are connected to impedancemeasuring means (not shown), which is well known in the art of body fatdetermining device, and incorporated in the main body 1. Specifically,the electrodes 5 and 6 are connected to a circuit serving as a constantcurrent source that outputs a constant current, whereas the electrode 3and the electrode 4 are connected to a circuit serving as a voltmeter.

When measuring the bioelectrical impedance Z via these electrodes, thepatient can contact for example, his left hand thumb onto the electrode3, and contact his left hand forefinger onto the electrode 5. Likewise,the patient can contact his right hand thumb onto the electrode 4, andcontact his right hand forefinger onto the electrode 6. In this way, abioelectrical impedance Z with the patient's hands representing the endsof the body can be measured.

As embodied in the visceral fat determining device 10, the constitutionof the electrode 5 generally at right behind the electrode 3, and theelectrode 6 generally at right behind the electrode 4 offers anadvantage that the main body 1 can be grasped easily, with the twofingers of each hand contacted to the respective electrodes. Theconstitution enables to hold the visceral fat determining device 10stably in the hands and to measure the bioelectrical impedance Z under astable condition. Further, the constitution allows the electrodes 3 and5 to be pressed generally evenly by the two respective fingers, as wellas allowing the electrodes 4 and 6 to be pressed generally evenly by therespective two fingers, enabling to measure the bioelectrical impedanceZ more stably.

Next, reference is made to FIG. 2 to describe signal processing blocksin the visceral fat determining device 10. Various calculations madewithin the visceral fat determining device 10 are performed by acalculation device 12 which includes a central processing unit (CPU) 14and the storage device 15.

The storage device 15 stores personal data inputted through the functionkeys provided in the operation pad 7, and measured values of thebioelectrical impedance Z obtained through the electrodes 3, 4, 5 and 6.The storage device 15 also stores various formulae, coefficients and soon necessary for obtaining the body fat ratio FAT based on thebioelectrical impedance Z and the personal data. Also, when the body fatratio FAT is thus calculated, the obtained body fat ratio FAT is storedin the storage device 15. Still further, when a BMI value and anestimated value of the abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VAare obtained, these calculation results are also stored in the storagedevice 15.

Further, the storage device 15 stores an operation instruction routinewhich includes procedures for providing the patient with necessaryguidance and instructions on how to operate the visceral fat determiningdevice 10, measuring routines which include calculation steps forobtaining the BMI, the body fat ratio FAT, and the estimated value ofthe abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA. The measuringroutine includes the first measuring routine and the second measuringroutine to be detailed later in a description of an operation example.

Still further, the storage device 15 stores the following coefficientsto be used for obtaining the estimated abdominal visceral fat crosssectional area VA: a first regression coefficient a₁ of WHR, a secondregression coefficient a₂ of WHR, a third regression coefficient a₃ ofWHR, a fourth regression coefficient a₄ of WHR, a fifth regressioncoefficient a₅ of WHR, a sixth regression coefficient a₆ of WHR, aseventh regression coefficient a₇ of WHR, a first regression coefficientb₁ of BMI, a second regression coefficient b₂ of BMI, a first regressioncoefficient d₁ of the body fat ratio FAT, a second regressioncoefficient d₂ of the body fat ratio FAT, a first regression coefficiente₁ of the abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness s, a second regressioncoefficient e₂ of the abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness s, a firstregression coefficient f₁ of the bioelectrical impedance, and a firstregression coefficient g₁ of T_(L) ²/Z, a first regression constant c₁,a second regression constant c₂, a third regression constant c₃, afourth regression constant C₄, a fifth regression constant c₅, a sixthregression constant c₆, and a seventh regression constant c₇.

These coefficients and constants a₁, a₂, a₃, a₄, a₅, a₆, a₇, b₁, b₂, c₁,c₂, c₃, c₄, c₅, c₆ c₇, d₁, d₂, e₁, e₂, f₁, and g₁ are obtainedelsewhere, and then inputted to the visceral fat determining device 10for storage. These coefficients are obtained in the following procedure.Specifically, for a mass of unspecified individuals, measurements aremade for their individual actual abdominal visceral fat cross sectionalarea VA. Measurements are also made for the WHR, BMI, the body fat ratioFAT, and the abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness s for each of theindividuals.

Correlation between WHR and the actual abdominal visceral fat crosssectional area VA is statistically processed, whereby a₁ and the firstregression constant c₁ with respect to the WHR can be obtained. Also,correlation among WHR, BMI and the actual abdominal visceral fat crosssectional area VA is statistically processed, whereby a₂ with respect tothe WHR, and b₁ and the second regression constant c₂ with respect tothe BMI can be obtained. Further, correlation among WHR, the body fatratio FAT and the actual abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VAis statistically processed, whereby a₃ with respect to the WHR, and d₁and the third regression constant c₃ with respect to the body fat ratioFAT can be obtained.

Further, correlation among WHR, BMI, the abdominal subcutaneous fatthickness s and the actual abdominal visceral fat cross sectional areaVA is statistically processed, whereby a₄ with respect to WHR, b₂ withrespect to BMI, e₁ with respect to the abdominal subcutaneous fatthickness s and the fourth regression constant c₄ can be obtained.Further, correlation of WHR, BMI, the abdominal subcutaneous fatthickness s, and the actual abdominal visceral fat cross sectional areaVA is statistically processed, whereby a₅ with respect to the WHR, d₂with respect to the body fat ratio FAT, e₂ with respect to the abdominalsubcutaneous fat thickness s and the fifth regression constant c₅ can beobtained.

Further, correlation among WHR, the bioelectrical impedance Z and theactual abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA is statisticallyprocessed, whereby a₆ with respect to WHR, f₁ with respect to thebioelectrical impedance Z and the sixth regression constant c₆ can beobtained. Further, correlation of WHR, T_(L) ²/Z and the actualabdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA is statisticallyprocessed, whereby a₇ with respect to WHR, g₁ with respect to T_(L) ²/Z,and the seventh regression constant c₇ can be obtained.

In order to obtain these coefficients a₁ through g₁, regression analysiscan be employed for the statistical processing of the correlationbetween the actual abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA andindividual personal data. For example, the coefficient a₁ with respectto WHR, and the constant c₁ which can be obtained from the correlationwith a₁ can be obtained by single regression analysis based on ahypothesis that the actual abdominal visceral fat cross sectional areaVA is correlated only with WHR. On the other hand, if the abdominalvisceral fat cross sectional area VA is assumed to correlate with WHRand other personal data, each coefficient can be obtained by multipleregression analysis.

In order to obtain the actual abdominal visceral fat cross sectionalarea VA of the unspecified people who provides sample data, tomographyis employed. The tomography can be provided by CT scanning, MRI,ultrasonic diagnosis or any other methods capable of performing accuratemeasurement of a human abdominal cross section. In obtaining thecoefficients a₁ through e₂, actual number of people who provide sampledata on the abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA and thepersonal data should desirably be not smaller than 100, in considerationthat statistical processing must be made to the abdominal visceral fatcross sectional area VA. More desirably, the number of people should benot smaller than 500.

In the signal processing blocks of the visceral fat determining device10 shown in FIG. 2, the data stored in the storage device andmeasurement values described above can be displayed on the display 8.Input and output of these data and measurements to and from the centralprocessing unit 14 and the storage device 15 are performed via aninput/output device (I/O) 16.

Next, an example operation of the visceral fat determining device 10will be described with reference to FIG. 3. First, the power of thevisceral fat determining device 10 is turned on. When selection is madeon the operation pad 7 for the first measurement mode, then the firstmeasuring routine is started.

In the beginning, the personal data is inputted which is body specificinformation. Namely, the height, weight, age, sex and WHR are inputtedas body specific information including and stored (S1).

Next, a calculation is made to obtain and store BMI based on the heightand the weight inputted in step S1 (S2). Then, bioelectrical impedance Zbetween the patient's hands is measured (S3), and the measuredbioelectrical impedance Z is stored. Using the bioelectrical impedance Zand other necessary personal data, body fat ratio FAT is calculated andstored (S4).

Next, abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA is estimated bycalculation (S5) based on WHR. Then, the obtained BMI, the body fatratio FAT and the abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA aredisplayed on the display 8 (S6).

The calculation for estimating the abdominal visceral fat crosssectional area VA in step S5 is performed by using the following formula(1):VA=a ₁ ·WHR+c ₁  (1)

In the formula (1), VA represents the abdominal visceral fat crosssectional area (Hereinafter, VA represents the abdominal visceral fatcross sectional area.).

In step S5 shown in FIG. 3, VA is assumed to correlate only with thepatient's WHR, the coefficient a₁ and the constant c₁ are derived onthis assumption, and VA is calculated with this coefficient, constant,and WHR. In calculating the estimated VA, alternatively to the formula(1), one of the following formulae (2) through (5) may be utilized:VA=a ₂ ·WHR+b ₁ ·BMI+c ₂  (2)VA=a ₃ ·WHR+d ₁ ·FAT+c ₃  (3)VA=a ₄ ·WHR+b ₂ ·BMI+e ₁ ·s+c ₄  (4)VA=a ₅ ·WHR+d ₂ ·FAT+e ₂ ·s+c ₅  (5)VA=a ₆ ·WHR+f ₁ ·Z+c ₆  (6)VA=a ₇ ·WHR+g ₁ ·T _(L) ² /Z+c ₇  (7)

FAT used in the formulae (3) and (7) is the body fat ratio expressed inpercentage. (Hereinafter, FAT represents the body fat ratio.) Also, thecharacter s in the formula (4) represents the abdominal subcutaneous fatthickness. Formula (2)is for a calculation of an estimated VA based oncorrelation of VA with the patient's WHR and BMI. Formula (3) is for acalculation of an estimated VA based on correlation of VA with thepatient's WHR and FAT.

Further, Formula (4) is for a calculation of an estimated VA based oncorrelation of VA with the patient's WHR, BMI and abdominal subcutaneousfat thickness s. Likewise, Formula (5) is for a calculation of anestimated VA based on correlation of VA with the patient's WHR, FAT andthe abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness s.

Further, Formula (6) is for a calculation of an estimated VA based oncorrelation of VA with the patient's WHR and bioelectrical impedance Z.Still further, Formula (7) is for a calculation of an estimated VA basedon correlation of VA with the patient's WHR and TL2/Z.

As will be understood from the above, Formula (1) gives VA based only oncorrelation of VA with the patient's WHR. On the other hand, Formulae(2) through (7) give VA based on correlation with a plurality of valuesfrom the personal data. Such a method as in Formulae (2) through (7), ofcalculating the estimated VA based on correlation with a plurality ofvalues from the personal data enables to obtain VA with more precisereflection of the patient's personal physical characteristics.

In addition, each of the Formulae (1) through (7) may include correctionterms on the basis of age and sex. The age correction term Yc is givenby Formula (8), whereas the sex correction term Xc is given by Formula(9):Yc=−δ·age  (8)Xc=η·sex  (9)

In Formula (8), “age” represents the age of the patient, and δrepresents an age correction coefficient. In Formula (9), “sex” is avariable which depends upon whether the patient is male or female, and ηrepresents a sex correction coefficient. If these correction terms areadded to Formulae (1) through (7), these terms are defined and treatedas variable terms of the multiple regression equation. Therefore, δ inFormula (8) can be obtained as a regression variable, “age” can beobtained as a variable, η in Formula (9) can be obtained as a regressioncoefficient, and “sex” can be obtained as a variable, each based oncorrelation with the estimation formula for VA.

If these Formulae (1) through (7) are used with the addition of thecorrection term Yc given by Formula (8) and the correction term Xc giveby Formula (9) in the calculation of VA, it becomes possible to reflectthe patient's personal physical characteristics in terms of the age andsex more precisely. Either one or both of the correction terms Yc and Xcmay be added to any of the formulae (1) through (7). If both of the Ycand Xc are added in the calculation using anyone of the formulae(1)-(7), it becomes possible to obtain the VA with more precisereflection of the patient's personal physical characteristics.

Further, based on the abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VAthus obtained, an amount of the abdominal visceral fat can be calculatedas additional information on the visceral fat.

Next, another example operation of the visceral fat determining device10 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. When selection is made onthe operation pad 7 (FIG. 1) for the second measurement mode, then thesecond measuring routine is started. Firstly, the patient is prompted toinput his waist size or the abdominal girth (S11). Next, a calculationis made for an abdominal subcutaneous fat cross sectional area SA, andobtained value is stored (S12). The calculation performed in step S12uses the following Formula (10):SA=W _(L) ·S−π·s ²  (10)

In formula (10), W_(L) represents the abdominal girth, and character “s”represents the abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness.

Next, a total abdominal cross sectional area (AW) is calculated andstored (S13). The calculation performed in step S13 uses the followingFormula (11):AW=ζ·(W _(L) ²/4π)  (11)

In formula (11), character π represents the circular constant pi.Further, character ζ represents a conversion coefficient for aconversion between circular and oval circumferences.

Next, based on the abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA and SAobtained and stored separately, the total abdominal cross sectional areaWA is calculated and stored (S14). The calculation performed in step S14uses the following Formula (12):WA=VA+SA  (12)

Next, a VSR which is a ratio between the abdominal visceral fat crosssectional area VA and abdominal subcutaneous fat cross sectional area SAis calculated and stored (S15). The calculation performed in step S15uses the following Formula (13):

 VSR=VA/SA  (13)

Next, a VWR which is a ratio between the abdominal visceral fat crosssectional area VA and the total abdominal cross sectional area WA, and aVAR which is a ratio between the abdominal visceral fat cross sectionalarea VA and the total abdominal cross sectional area (AW) are calculatedand stored (S16). The calculations performed in step S16 use Formula(14) for obtaining VWR and Formula (15) for obtaining VAR:VWR=VA/WA  (14)VAR=VA/AW  (15)

Next, calculations are made for SWR which is a ratio between theabdominal subcutaneous fat cross sectional area SA and the totalabdominal cross sectional area WA, and SAR which is a ratio between theabdominal subcutaneous fat cross sectional area SA and the totalabdominal cross sectional area (AW), and the calculated values arestored (S17). The calculations performed in step S17 use Formula (16)for obtaining SWR and Formula (17) for obtaining SAR:SWR=SA/WA  (16)SAR=SA/AW  (17)

Next, obtained values of SA, VSR, VWR, VAR, SWR and SAR are displayed onthe display 8 (S18). Further, the abdominal subcutaneous fat crosssectional area SA is ranked in a plurality of levels and displayed onthe display 8 in conformity to the ranking (S19).

In the above description based on FIG. 1 through FIG. 4, the personaldata such as the waist size, the hip size and ratio WHR thereof aremeasured elsewhere and then manually inputted using the operation pad 7.Alternatively, however, the visceral fat determining device mayincorporate size measuring means capable of measuring the patient'sabdominal girth. FIG. 5(a) gives an example of such a visceral fatdetermining device, showing a visceral fat determining deviceincorporating the size measuring means, in a fragmentally transparentperspective view.

The visceral fat determining device 20 is provided with a measuring tape21 serving as the size measuring means, which can be drawn in and pulledout of the main body. The measuring tape 21 has its end provided with apull tip 22, which can be grabbed and pulled to draw the tape out of anpull portion 23. Further, the measuring tape 21 can be reeled back intothe main body when an rewind button (not shown) provided in the visceralfat determining device 20 is operated.

Further, on the side away from the side, on which pull portion 23 isformed, of the visceral fat determining device 20, an engaging portion24 is provided. As shown in FIG. 5(b), the pull tip 22 of the measuringtape 21 can be hooked onto the engaging portion 24, which prevents themeasuring tape 21 from slackening, and enables to measure accurately.

With the above constitution, as shown in FIG. 5(b), when measuring thesize of a required portion, the measuring tape 21 can be pulled out andwound around the abdomen, the hips and so on, and then the pull tip 22is hooked on the engaging portion 24 to read the tape.

The waist size and the hip size measured with the measuring tape 21 maybe manually inputted via the operation pad 7. Alternatively however, thesize measured with the measuring tape 21 may be directly inputted tocalculating device 12 without the operation on the operation pad 7. Inthis case, size data obtained through the measurement by the measuringtape 21 should be processed as a digital signal, and is inputted to thedata processing unit 12 by the signal processing block shown in FIG. 2via the input/output device (I/O) 16. Then, based on the waist size andthe hip size measured by the measuring tape 21, their ratio or WHR isobtained by the data processing unit 12.

As exemplified by the visceral fat determining device 20, if the sizemeasuring means is provided so that the hip size and the waist size canbe measured on demand, the measurement can be performed right at thetime when the visceral fat cross sectional area is to be obtained.Therefore, the abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA can beobtained more accurately from the latest hip size and the waist size.

Alternatively to the measuring tape 21, the size measuring means may beprovided by an unillustrated roller that serves as a rolling distancedetermining device. Specifically, the size measuring means can beprovided by a roller, which is rolled on and along a portion to bemeasured, and the travel distance of the roller obtained from the numberof roller rotations is translated to the size. If the size measuringmeans is provided by such a rolling type measurer, measuring of thewaist or hips can be made very easily by simply rolling the rolleraround the waist or the hips.

The embodiments given as the visceral fat determining device 10 and thevisceral fat determining device 20 are handheld apparatuses, and thebioelectrical impedance Z in relation to the body fat ratio FAT ismeasured via the hands.

The visceral fat determining device according to the present inventioncan also be embodied as incorporated in a weight scale or body fatdetermining device. Specifically, a visceral fat determining device 30shown in FIG. 6 is incorporated integrally with a weight scale.

According to the visceral fat determining device 30, a main body has atop surface formed with a weight measuring surface 32, and the weight onthe weight measuring surface 32 is detected by an load cell (not shown)provided inside the main body. The patient stands on the weightmeasuring surface 32 to obtain the weight.

Further, the weight measuring surface 32 is provided with the electrodes33, 34, 35 and 36 for measuring the patient's bioelectrical impedance Z.The electrodes 33 and 34 serve as a pair of circuit forming electrodesfor forming a path for electric current to flow within the patient'sbody. The electrodes 35 and 36 serve as a pair of voltage measurementelectrodes for measuring electric potential difference between twopoints on the circuit.

These electrodes 33, 34, 35 and 36 are, as in the visceral fatdetermining device 10 and the visceral fat determining device 20,connected to impedance measuring means which is well known in the art ofbody fat determining device, so that the body's impedance can bemeasured via the electrodes 33, 34, 35 and 36.

According to the visceral fat determining device 30, when measuring thebioelectrical impedance Z, the patient stands on the measuring surface32, with the sole of his left foot onto electrodes 33 and 35, and thesole of his right foot onto electrodes 34 and 36. Through this, thepatient's weight is measured as well as his bioelectrical impedance Z,with his feet representing the ends of the body.

The visceral fat determining device 30 is provided with the sameoperation pad 7 and the display 8 as described for the visceral fatdetermining device 10, as well as the data processing unit 12 thatincludes the central processing unit 14 and the storage device 15.

The storage device 15 is constructed, just as described for the visceralfat determining device 10, stores the routines, the coefficients anddata, as well as inputted data and measurement results. Further, signalprocessing is also performed in the same way as described with referenceto FIG. 2.

A note should be made however, that according to the visceral fatdetermining device 30, the patient's weight detected by the load cellwhich is provided inside the main body is automatically processed asweight data, by the data processing unit 12. Further, the patient'sweight as one of the personal data may not be manually inputted from theoperation pad 7, but instead the weight data measured by the visceralfat determining device 30 can be used.

Still further, the visceral fat determining device 30 may be providedwith the size measuring means which has been described for the visceralfat determining device 20, so that the waist size and hip size can bereadily measured.

In the visceral fat determining device 30 described above, a weightscale is integrally incorporated so that the patient's weight can bemeasured while he is standing on the determining device to measure thebioelectrical impedance Z via his feet and thereby measuring the bodyfat ratio FAT. Alternatively however, components providing the weightscale may not be included. Specifically, the determining device may notbe able to measure the weight, but can measure the bioelectricalimpedance Z via the feet, and can measure the body fat ratio FAT basedon the impedance Z, as well as the above-described measurementsassociated with the visceral fat.

Further, additional constitution may be made for the body fat ratiomeasuring means so that impedance measurement can be performed via boththe hand and the feet as well as the above-described measurementsassociated with the visceral fat can be performed. Specifically, thebody fat ratio measuring means is arranged as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5so that the impedance measurement can be performed, in addition to thecapability of the impedance measurement via the feet as shown in FIG. 6.

As has been described, according to the visceral fat determining deviceof the present invention, the patient's abdominal visceral fat crosssectional area VA can be obtained easily at home for example. Thisoffers an advantage that information on the visceral fat which isbelieved to be important with respect to various diseases can beobtained easily.

1. A visceral fat determining device comprising: input means forinputting personal data including at least an abdominal girth W_(L)which is a circumferential length of a trunk of a patient and a glutealgirth H_(L) which is a circumferential length of buttocks of thepatient; a data processing unit for storing the personal data and forcalculating quantitative information on abdominal visceral fat of thepatient including an estimated value of an abdominal visceral fatcross-sectional area VA of the patient based on the personal data; and adisplay device for displaying the personal data and a result of thecalculation performed by the data processing unit; wherein the dataprocessing unit stores at least one regression coefficient of WHR and aregression constant, WHR being a ratio (W_(L)/H_(L)) of an abdominalgirth W_(L) to an gluteal girth H_(L), the regression coefficient andthe regression constant being obtained from statistical processing basedon actual measurement values of the abdominal visceral fat crosssectional area VA measured in abdominal tomography of human bodies ofrandom samples and respective WHR values of the human samples, the dataprocessing unit calculating the estimated value of abdominal visceralfat cross sectional area VA of the patient based on a WHR value of thepatient, the regression constant of said WHR and the regressioncoefficient.
 2. The visceral fat determining device according to claim1, wherein the quantitative information on the abdominal visceral fatfurther includes an amount of the abdominal visceral fat.
 3. Thevisceral fat determining device according to claim 1, further comprisingbody fat ratio measuring means for measuring a bioelectrical impedance Zof the patient via electrodes contacted to end portions of the patientand for calculating a body fat ratio FAT of the patient based on themeasured bioelectrical impedance Z and the inputted personal data or aportion thereof, wherein the body fat ratio FAT obtained by the body fatratio measuring means is displayed on the display device.
 4. Thevisceral fat determining device according to claim 1, wherein theabdominal girth W_(L) is provided by an abdominal girth at the fourthlumbar vertebrae of the patient, and the gluteal girth H_(L) is providedby a girth measured generally at the thickest portion on the buttocks ofthe patient.
 5. The visceral fat determining device according to claim1, further comprising size measuring means for measuring the abdominalgirth W_(L) and the gluteal girth H_(L).
 6. The visceral fat determiningdevice according to claim 5, wherein the abdominal girth W_(L) and thegluteal girth H_(L) measured by the size measuring means are inputted tothe data processing unit.
 7. The visceral fat determining deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the calculation of the estimated value ofabdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA is performed withaddition of a correction term by age and/or a correction term by sex, ofthe patient.
 8. The visceral fat determining device according to claim1, wherein a plurality of ranking levels defined by a plurality ofstandard values are provided in advance for the abdominal visceral fatcross sectional area VA, the estimated value of the abdominal visceralfat cross sectional area VA given by the calculation being displayed onthe display device in conformity with the ranking levels.
 9. A visceralfat determining device comprising: input means for inputting personaldata including an abdominal girth WL which is a circumferential lengthof a trunk (waist size) of a patient and a gluteal girth HL which is acircumferential length of buttocks (hip size) of the patient; a dataprocessing unit for storing the personal data and for calculating anestimated value of an abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA ofthe patient based on the personal data; and a display device fordisplaying the personal data and a result of the calculation performedby the data processing unit; wherein the data processing unit stores afirst regression coefficient of WHR and a first regression constant, WHRbeing a ratio (WL/HL) of an abdominal girth WL to an gluteal girth HL,the regression coefficient and the regression constant being obtainedfrom statistical processing based on actual measurement values of theabdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA measured in abdominaltomography of human bodies of random samples and respective WHR valuesof the human samples, the data processing unit calculating the estimatedvalue of abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA of the patientbased on a WHR value of the patient, the first regression constant ofsaid WHR and the first regression coefficient.
 10. The visceral fatdetermining device according to claim 9, further comprising body fatratio measuring means for measuring a bioelectrical impedance Z of thepatient via electrodes contacted to end portions of the patient and forcalculating a body fat ratio FAT of the patient based on the measuredbioelectrical impedance Z and the inputted personal data or a portionthereof, wherein the body fat ratio FAT obtained by the body fat ratiomeasuring means is displayed on the display device.
 11. The visceral fatdetermining device according to claim 9, wherein the calculation of theestimated value of abdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA isperformed with addition of a correction term by age and/or a correctionterm by sex, of the patient.
 12. The visceral fat determining deviceaccording to claim 9, wherein a plurality of ranking levels defined by aplurality of standard values are provided in advance for the abdominalvisceral fat cross sectional area VA, the estimated value of theabdominal visceral fat cross sectional area VA given by the calculationbeing displayed on the display device in conformity with the rankinglevels.